You buy two for the 3:55 show. You hand your tickets to a vacant teenager. You stare at the Free Publications rack while your girlfriend goes to the bathroom.

You mount the escalator and hold open the door to theater number six. You see two seats in the fourth row. You point at them. Your girlfriend nods.

You watch a preview for a Mel Gibson movie. You watch a preview for a Judd Apatow movie. The screen reminds you to turn off your phone, and that there’s still time to get a Coke. You put your hand on your girlfriend’s leg. She smiles. You remember how much you like coming to the movies.

Behind you, a rasp. Like a vacuum cleaner choking on a Lego.

You ignore it. You put your arm around your girlfriend. She sinks into your shoulder. You kiss the top of her head.

Cellophane, turning, crushing, opening.

You take a deep breath. You focus on Jennifer Aniston. You recall your distaste for opening credits.

Crinkle, squickle, kerplickle.

You decide that one look can’t hurt. Maybe it’s a kid, his tiny hands a-flutter over a package of Sour Straws. You kiss your girlfriend’s temple and maneuver your head to try and find the culprit.

There she is.

Her eyes are transfixed by the screen. She’s fumbling with packaging that contains more packaging. You don’t recognize the candy, but you can tell that there’s a lot of it. A banana clip of sugar bullets.

She’s big. No, big isn’t enough. Her jowls are gallon-sized Ziplocs filled with Jell-O. Her arms are the tubes of sand they sell to pick-up drivers in winter. Her legs are prisoners inside a denim penitentiary.

You narrow your eyes. She doesn’t notice.

You face forward. You lay your head on top of your girlfriend’s and try to laugh at something Pierce Brosnan said to the concierge inside a hotel that’s in Marina del Rey but that’s supposed to be in Bucharest.

Pierce Brosnan takes his bag, winking at Jennifer Aniston from across the lobby.

Then, finally, mercifully, it is over. You hear the last wrapper fall to the ground. You think you hear a sigh.

Your shoulders slump. Your heart slows. Okay, you think.

An action sequence. There’s an Audi and a mine shaft and a Eurotrash girl you hope your girlfriend won’t mind you looking up on Google Images later.

Then, when the older Crystal Method song stops, a death rattle.

You turn. What she calls breathing is what you call gasping.

You shake your head.

Sugar…Neck fat…Body Mass Index…Colin Farrell in In Bruges…cholesterol levels…insulin…fat camp…Biggest Loser…Americans…she’s old enough to know better…Medicare…Medicaid…I just want to enjoy this bad movie in peace…money…manatee…I bet it’s 120 degrees in her crotch.

Your girlfriend looks up at you. A whisper. “Hey. Don’t worry about it.”

You smile, turn and face forward. You girlfriend is right. You can’t do anything about it. The woman behind you is fat and lazy and inconsiderate and it was always going to be that way because of choices she made and choices her parents made and because of farm subsidies and cheap corn syrup and a lack of emphasis on physical education in schools and even though it’s disgusting that she’s five-foot-four and weighs 279 pounds it isn’t really your place to pass judgment because it could very easily have been you if things had gone a little differently and anyway let her enjoy the few years she has on Earth because there probably won’t be many more and just because she’s making enough noise for a roomful of toddlers doesn’t mean…

Jennifer Aniston waits for a kiss. Pierce Brosnan leans in.

More cellophane. New cellophane. You turn.

She’s holding a bag of Twizzlers. On the side of the package, in red, it reads, “1 LB!” She tears off the first piece of licorice and stuffs it in her mouth.

Your eyes go wide. You reach your left hand under your seat. You feel for the metal handle. You unscrew the cap. You look at your girlfriend and shrug. You stand up, the handle digging into your hand. You take a step into the aisle, go up one row, and lean across two seats.

You pour the kerosene on her head, in her lap, all over the bag of licorice. You open a lighter. You set her on fire. You run from the theater, laughing like a maniac.

Past work on FlipCollective.com. To follow him on Twitter. To befriend him on Facebook.

Comments

comments

15 Comments

Joe P.April 27, 2011 at 1:10 pm

I've met you before, we have just a couple of things in common, and I know you will never vote Republican. Or have things changed?

CodenameDuchessApril 27, 2011 at 2:58 pm

Interesting. I wrestle with these same issues in my head. I nearly exploded a few weeks ago when I saw a pleasantly plump women on the elevator in my building with a king size snickers in one hand and a copy of "The South Beach Diet" in the other.
However, how does this lead one to vote Republican? Aren't democrats and Mrs. Obama particularly trying to implement various taxes around soda/fast food/etc.? Let me state that I am in fact a Republican, however, I support these so-called "choice" taxes (tobacco, liquor, hopefully one day marijuana).

Big Bad BurleyApril 27, 2011 at 9:17 pm

A couple of years back I saw a grossly overweight man in a mall enter a KFC.... with the his newest purchase, the latest Wii Fit balance board, under his arm.

pragmatismApril 28, 2011 at 10:22 am

you may want to check out obestity rates in red states compared to blue. but this is essentially a fact free zone. all galtian projection of truthiness.

pragmatism is a moronApril 28, 2011 at 2:31 pm

Hey Praggot. It took you a whole day to post a comment this time? There must have been an important function at the trailer park last night and you just couldn't get to it yesterday? Or were you standing in line at the pharmacy to get your herpes meds just a little too long?

pragmatismApril 28, 2011 at 2:42 pm

speaking of projecting.....

MGApril 28, 2011 at 3:49 pm

I have to admit, Pragmatism's comments are one of the reasons I still read Paul's posts.
What's the harm in challenging someone?
certainly its more valid than trolling someone for alleged trolling?
And, you've got to admit, there seems to be an underlying theme in most of this author's posts that feels like, "If only everyone were as smart and practical as me..."

pragmatismApril 29, 2011 at 10:39 am

how smart or practical is it to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, aka espn.com? if i had a book coming out it sure would be nice to have a link to my new book and my old book at the end of each article i wrote. may as well go full metal wingnut paul. you've already demonstrated your aversion to empathy and altruism. except when you mess up, then you demand them for yourself. since you are emulating randian archetypes (fun fact-they were modeled on a serial killer), i'd suggest you go galt. i don't think they'd let you in the gulch but its worth a shot. that'll show the smelly fat brown poor people. WOLVERINES!

This post is very good, but it seems derivative of http://hatefats.blogspot.com

CritiqueApril 29, 2011 at 12:35 pm

I think it's time you do your career a service and boost your readership, the David Foster Wallace way

Interesting...April 29, 2011 at 2:25 pm

The Republican thing is obviously a joke, as conservatives would have no part in informing/swaying people into any particular diet/good eating habits. That's too much government interference, right?

Pragmatism is right...April 30, 2011 at 6:33 am

All the fattest states in this nation are red states. Here, I even dug up a link for the rest of you morons(trust me, if you agree with this very terrible article you're a moron): http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/08/10/us-obesity-rates-by-state
Maine is one of the top states, but most of the top states are red states: W.Va, KY, Ark, MS, AL, TN, OK...
Now, will anyone respond to this comment or are FACTS too dangerous for this incredibly stupid crowd?

As a fellow "fatist"...I love this article! I teach 8th grade in south florida and you should see the shapes and sizes of the population down here Paul...you would be running back to Kansas City (it's not all models and south beach like the media would make you think)

cracksonMay 22, 2011 at 12:04 pm

What a bizarre last sentence. If you hate fat people you will vote for the party more likely to support corn subsidies and less likely to support physical and nutritional education programs?